Here come the blueberries!

In New York City where I live, blueberry season is fairly long, since we have blueberries form the south, then New Jersey, then finally from Maine and Michigan, consecutively throughout several months. I love this type of cake and blueberries are the perfect fruit for it – they melt to a jam-like consistency between the cake batter and crumb topping while the cake is baking.

Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

For the crumb topping, mix the flour, baking powder, sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Melt the butter and stir it in evenly. Rub the mixture to coarse crumbs by hand.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until soft and light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Stir together the flour and baking powder and stir add to the batter in three additions, alternating with the yolks and milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Scatter the blueberries evenly over the batter, pressing them in gently, then top with the crumbs.

Bake the cake about 40 minutes until batter is firm and crumbs are well colored. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack. Cut the cooled cake into twenty four 3-inch squares. Remove the squares from the pan to a platter.

Serving: This a great breakfast cake and also transports well, right in the pan, to a picnic.

Storage: Wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature. Freeze for longer storage. Defrost cake and bring it to room temperature before serving.